Kitchen renovation in Singapore is consistently where the biggest renovation surprises happen. Homeowners go in expecting to spend S$18,000 and come out having spent S$35,000. Not because they were naive but because kitchen renovations have more moving parts than any other room and more ways for scope to expand once hacking starts.
This guide is a clear-eyed look at what kitchen renovation in Singapore actually involves in 2026, what drives the cost in each direction and how to approach a kitchen project so the final number is close to the number you planned for. From the team at RS Carpentry who plan and deliver kitchen renovations across HDB BTO, resale and condo homes in Singapore.
The Scope Question You Need to Answer First
Before any contractor is called, decide how much of the kitchen you are actually changing. There are three broadly different kitchen renovation scopes in Singapore and conflating them is how budgets collapse.
A cosmetic refresh means new cabinet fronts or a vinyl wrap over existing cabinets, a new countertop, new backsplash tiles and perhaps a new hood and hob. The structure stays. This is the most budget-efficient option when the existing layout works and the carcasses are still sound.
A full cabinet replacement means hacking out all existing cabinets, countertop and tiles, replacing everything with new carpentry and finishes. The plumbing stays where it is and the layout does not change. This is what most homeowners mean when they say “full kitchen renovation” and it is what our Resale Kitchen Makeover package covers on a fixed-price basis.
A kitchen reconfiguration involves moving the sink, repositioning the hob, adding an island or opening the kitchen to the living area. This is significantly more expensive and more disruptive because it involves plumbing relocation and potentially structural changes. It also requires HDB approval if structural walls are involved.
What Actually Drives Kitchen Renovation Cost
For a typical HDB 4-room kitchen renovation in Singapore the cost breakdown looks roughly like this:
- Carpentry (cabinets and countertop): 45 to 55 percent of total budget
- Tiling (floor and wall): 15 to 20 percent
- Plumbing and waterproofing: 8 to 12 percent
- Hood and hob (if included): 8 to 15 percent depending on brand
- Electrical and lighting: 5 to 8 percent
- Painting and ceiling: 3 to 5 percent
Carpentry is by far the largest component. The difference between a S$20,000 kitchen and a S$40,000 kitchen usually sits entirely in the cabinet specification: plywood grade, door finish, hardware brand and internal fittings. Our detailed guide on kitchen cabinet materials, layouts and cost and the companion piece on kitchen countertop options in Singapore break this down line by line.
Realistic Kitchen Renovation Cost Singapore 2026
These are honest all-in ranges for complete kitchen renovation including cabinets, countertop, tiling, plumbing, hood and hob and installation:
- HDB 3-room kitchen (cosmetic refresh): S$8,000 to S$16,000
- HDB 3-room kitchen (full replacement): S$16,000 to S$28,000
- HDB 4-room kitchen (full replacement): S$22,000 to S$45,000
- HDB 5-room kitchen (full replacement): S$30,000 to S$60,000
- Condo kitchen (2 bedroom): S$25,000 to S$55,000
- Condo kitchen (3 bedroom or larger): S$40,000 to S$90,000
A quote significantly below these ranges deserves a detailed line-by-line explanation of what has been reduced. It is almost never luck. It is almost always thinner plywood, weaker hinges or an excluded scope item that will cost more to add mid-project than it would have upfront.
The Open Kitchen Question
Open concept kitchens are popular in Singapore renovation and they do make small flats feel significantly larger. The practical considerations before committing are worth thinking through honestly.
Cooking fumes are the real issue. Singapore cooking habits involve high heat wok cooking and frequent frying. Even a powerful hood captures only a fraction of the oil and smoke that a closed kitchen would contain. An open kitchen in a Singapore home used for serious daily cooking means oil mist on the sofa and a living area that always faintly smells of dinner. For households that cook light meals occasionally, open concept works beautifully. For households cooking curry three times a week it requires a genuinely exceptional extraction system to be livable.
If you want the open feel without the fume problem, a full-height glass panel or a Crittall-style glass and steel partition creates visual openness while maintaining enough physical separation to contain smells. This is one of the better compromises we see in Singapore kitchen renovation.
HDB Kitchen Rules to Know
A few HDB-specific rules that affect kitchen renovation planning:
- The kitchen sink cannot be relocated to a position that puts waste pipes running through a bedroom above or below
- Gas hob installations require a licensed gas contractor and SP Gas sign-off
- Kitchen tiling work requires an HDB renovation permit applied for by your registered contractor
- Hacking of the kitchen wall separating from the living area requires HDB approval if it is a non-structural wall and is not permitted if it is structural
The full HDB renovation rules covering permits and what requires approval are on the official HDB website. Always verify with your contractor before any hacking starts.
Choosing Kitchen Materials That Last in Singapore
Singapore kitchens are hard on materials. High heat from cooking, oil residue, cleaning chemicals used daily and the humidity from boiling and steaming all test surfaces in ways that European or American material specifications were not necessarily designed for.
For cabinets, E0 plywood carcass is the minimum worth specifying for the long term. For countertops, sintered stone handles Singapore cooking habits better than marble or even quartz at the high end. For hardware, Blum and Hettich are the names that survive Singapore humidity and daily use. For tiles, large format anti-slip porcelain on the kitchen floor wears better than smaller mosaic formats where grout lines collect grease over time.
Get a Proper Kitchen Quote
Kitchen renovation in Singapore goes wrong most often when the scope is not defined clearly before signing. An itemised quotation that breaks out cabinet running feet, countertop material, tile area and appliance supply separately gives you something to actually compare. Contact RS Carpentry for a free site visit and a properly broken-down kitchen renovation quotation. For standard resale kitchen scope, our Resale Kitchen Makeover package offers a fixed price with the full scope listed upfront.
